FIA-GT

Live Q3 right now at Nogaro.
Packed field including 2 458's.
Streaming on site
gt1world.com or simply type FIA GT in your browser.
If you love watching Sports car, especially the 458's which look fantastic,
tune in.

Yes!! I hope they stream the race. The Ferrari's look stunning. But really, I think the whole field
looks great and the times are really close. Put any Ferrari in a race, n Im there, plus I really
love sports car racing.

True, i have really got the sportscars, GT bug. Loved it for few years now, but recently followed it more closely. GT class in ALMS and ELMS and WEC is always close hard racing. By looks of it, the GT1 will be close aswell. Just wish the MC12s were back in it.

Yea, wonder why they were pulled..could it be because Ferrari is in it?
If Im not mistaken, Fiat also owns Maser..
Still, you have the Audi n the Lambo, n Audi owns Lambo.

They pulled out at first due to Stephane Ratal wanting 2 teams with 2 cars of the same cars. Masser was looking good, but then had to pull sister team due to money, then other teams follwed the same road. Got close to FIA GT closing altogether, but then they changed the rules to more of GT3 to get the teams and cars on the grid.

The WRT Audi team secured a one-two finish in the first race of the GT1 World Championship season at Nogaro.

Tomas Enge had rapidly battled through to the lead of the event's damp qualification race for Reiter Lamborghini in the opening stint, but his relatively inexperienced team-mate Albert von Thurn und Taxis was always going to face a tough task to hold his pursuers back when he took over for the run to the flag.

Sure enough, he was hunted down by Stephane Ortelli in the Audi he shares with Laurens Vanthoor, with the WRT driver overtaking von Thurn und Taxis and then edging clear.

The second Audi of Frank Stippler and Oliver Jarvis also made it through, giving WRT a front-row sweep for Monday's championship race. But von Thurn und Taxis held his own well - sticking with Stippler and resisting pressure from the Gregoire Demoustier/Alvaro Parente Hexis McLaren to retain the final spot on the podium.

The polesitting AF Corse Ferrari fell back in Filip Salaquarda's hands in the first stint, meaning Toni Vilander had to settle for beating the two Munnich Mercedes to fifth.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT drivers Laurens Vanthoor and Stephane Ortelli won the first race of the FIA GT1 World Championship in Nogaro. On a wet track the Belgian and Monégasque kept their team mates Frank Stippler and Oliver Jarvis behind and made it a 1-2 for the Belgian team and their Audi R8 LMS ultras.

Due to poor weather conditions at Nogaro, the race was declared a “wet race” well before the start. The weather did however surprise Stef Dusseldorp and the Dutchman crashed his Hexis Racing McLaren MP4-12C GT3. The damage inflicted was enough to rule the #1 McLaren out of the race.

Immediately after the official start the safety car returned for what became an extra formation lap. It quickly left again, leaving the drivers to fight under full power. Czech driver Tomas Enge made a lightning start and was the fastest driver in the opening stages of the race. Within no time Enge passed the cars ahead of him and after just three laps the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 moved into the lead of the race.

While Enge pulled away from the rest of the field, Filip Salaquarda held up everyone behind him. Only after almost 15 minutes of racing WRT Audi driver Laurens Vanthoor managed to pass the Ferrari. Alvaro Parente in the second McLaren Hexis was the next driver to go after Salaquarda and after 10 laps the Portuguese driver passed the AF Corse Ferrari.

A strong performance by Laurens Vanthoor then ensured that the gap between the numbers 1 and 2 in the race was reduced from nine to five seconds, but even an extra lap of Vanthoor whilst Enge pitted could not prevent his team-mate Stephane Ortelli from returning to the track behind the Reiter Lamborghini. Albert von Thurn und Taxis came past the pit while the Audi was still there and much to his surprise saw the Hexis Racing McLaren of Gregoire Demoustier pulling out of the pit in second position.

Ortelli put things in order quickly and passed the McLaren after only a couple of corners. The second WRT Audi, in which Frank Stippler had taken over from Oliver Jarvis, passed the McLaren a couple of laps later and both Audi’s started to hunt down the Reiter Lamborghini of Von Thurn und Taxis.

The highly experienced Monégasque managed to close the gap to Von Thurn und Taxis in just a matter of laps and on the lap 28 Ortelli took the lead. Third placed Stippler was also closing in rapidly and by lap 33 Stippler also passed Von Thurn und Taxis to take second position.

On the final lap Demoustier tried to get Hexis Racing on the podium, but he was unable to pass Von Thurn und Taxis and finished in fourth place behind the two Audi’s and the Lamborghini. The fastest car in qualifying, the AF Corse Ferrari of Filip Salaquarda and Toni Vilander crossed the line in fifth place.

The Hexis Racing pair of Alvaro Parente (PRT) and Gregoire Demoustier (FRA) secured pole position for tomorrow’s Qualifying Race in a stunning return to form for McLaren in the seventh round of championship in Russia.

Parente in the No.2 McLaren produced a quickest lap of 1:33.536 around the twists and turns of the Moscow Raceway.

In the previous round at Slovakia, the Hexis Racing team managed just two points after a spate of mechanical problems.

The No.1 McLaren of Fred Makowiecki (FRA) and Stef Dusseldorp (NLD) was second fastest (1:33.726) to round out a good day for the French outfit.

“After the hard weekend we had in Slovakia it was a great effort by the whole team to come here to Russia and finish P1 and P2 in Qualifying,” Parente said.

“We used the two Free Practice sessions well this morning to engineer the car and get the maximum performance which is what we showed this afternoon.”

Dusseldorp said he expected overtaking to be difficult on the 3.931 km circuit. “It is definitely going to be a challenge to overtake that’s for sure,” he said.

“But I like the circuit, it has a big long straight and the twisty part is challenging. We will do our best to keep the car up the front and score some good points this weekend.”

Conditions were cold and cloudy at Moscow Raceway with the air temperature reaching just 13C. The sun had broken through briefly by the end of the session and track conditions remained dry throughout.

Third was the No.3 AF Corse Ferrari of Toni Vilander (FIN) and Filip Salaquarda (CZE) with a best lap time of 1:34.188. The Ferrari duo had set the pace in Free Practice but Salaquarda says the change in weather conditions accounted for a slight drop-off in performance.

“In the Free Practice I were very fast and I was expecting a good Qualifying but I was struggling to heat the tyres and fighting the car this afternoon,” he said. “Maybe the weather changed a bit for us and that affected us.”

Buurman limped the ailing Z4 backed to the garage, leaving a trail of oil on the back straight and the pit lane and causing a delay of over 30 minutes while an absorbent powder was applied to the track surface. The engine also caught fire and damaged the car’s right-hand side tyres.

The pair will start tomorrow’s Qualifying Race from the back of the grid. The sister No.17 BMW of Mathias Lauda (DEU) and Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof (AUT) will start just one place ahead after an indifferent session.

“The problem with no.18 car was the engine, it exploded and it causes us a lot of work to do now,” Vita4One Racing team manager Bartels said.

“We have to replace the engine and investigate and fix the damage caused by the fire. It will be a long night. We are trying our best to be in the fight for tomorrow.

“With our other car we are analysing what happened at the moment, it’s unclear why we lost so much performance. Hopefully we will find a solution so that we can put both our cars not at the back but in the front.

“The Russian track is very challenging, very technical with tight turns so we have to work hard to find the right set-up and get the balance right.”

Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) and Stephane Ortelli (MON) led the charge for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audis with fourth place in the No.32 R8 just ahead of the No.33 car of Oliver Jarvis (GBR) and Frank Stippler (DEU).

“We’ve had a good day, I did Q2 today and managed P3, we ended up P5 which keeps us in a competitive position for the race,” Jarvis said. “Our team-mates are in P4, so not a perfect result but it could be worse.

“The Russian track is really cool I have to say, there’s lots of tight sections, left right left right, and a great straight which may not be too great for us but it’s a nice feature.”

All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Mercedes, the teams’ championship leaders, were sixth and seventh – the No.37 of Nicky Pastorelli (NLD) and Thomas Jager (DEU) ahead of their German team-mates Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the No.38.

Francesco Castellacci (ITA) and Enzo Ide (BEL) in the second AF Corse Ferrari were eighth and the Sunred Ford GT No.10 of Armaam Ebrahim (IND) and Benjamin Lariche (FRA) ninth.

The Qualifying Race starts at 11:15 local time tomorrow followed by the Championship Race at 15:15.

The AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Toni Vilander (FIN) and Filip Salaquarda (CZE) scored a maiden Championship Race victory at the penultimate round at the Nürburgring in a race which saw the drivers’ championship lead change hands.

The AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Toni Vilander (FIN) and Filip Salaquarda (CZE) scored a maiden Championship Race victory at the penultimate round at the Nürburgring in a race which saw the drivers’ championship lead change hands.

Second place for Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Mercedes No.38 enabled them to take the lead of the drivers’ classification by a single point over Vita4One’s Michael Bartels (DEU) and Yelmer Buurman (NLD) who finished fourth.

So often this season Vilander and Salaquarda have been the pacesetters in Free Practice and Qualifying only to fall short come race day.

“We have been world champions in Free Practice but have not been able to quite get the race win but today we did and it is a great feeling,” Vilander said.

Vilander, who is likely to miss the final round at Donington, added: “I probably won’t be at Donington for the final race of the season because of schedules so I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the teams and organisers. It’s been a pleasure to be part of this championship, the racing has been really fair.”

Basseng, the All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Mercedes team boss, was delighted to be heading to England with the lead of the drivers’ championship and an extended lead in the teams’ standings.

After a feisty battle in today’s race, he was also relieved to get to the flag in second place.

“The start of the race was very critical, I had a small tap with the Audi but luckily nothing happened to the car. I managed to secure third position and fought to find some speed. The car had good traction but, like times before, the car was too slow, I’m surprised we managed to be on the podium,” he said.

“At the pit stop we were very quick and Markus took over and did a fantastic job. He managed to stay in front of the Reiter Lamborghini which was great.

“With this finish we now lead the drivers’ championship, only by one point but it’s good. We go to final race at Donington in front but it’s going to be really stressful.”

Third today was the Reiter Lamborghini of Peter Kox (NLD) and Stefan Rosina (SVK), the Qualifying Race winners of the previous day.

“We made a mistake with pit stop and we had to do another lap before coming in which lost us track position, it was a mistake,” Kox said.

“Anyway it was a fantastic result for the Retier Engineering team, I think they needed that.

“I am looking forward to Donington, I know the track well. I set the Formula 3000 lap record there before it was resurfaced. It’s a really great circuit and I have a feeling it will suit the car well.”

The battle goes to the wire at Donington next weekend with Basseng and Winkelhock on 143 points with their BMW rivals on 142. Meanwhile, the Hexis Racing McLaren pair of Fred Makowiecki (FRA) and Stef Dusseldorp (NLD) in the Hexis McLaren No.1 completed a dismal weekend by finished 10th after an eventful race in which Makowiecki was handed a drive-through after a tangle with a GT3 car.
Having been title contenders ahead of Nürburgring following a Championship Race victory at the previous round in Russia, they added just one point to their tally, and are out of the reckoning on 111. In the teams’ battle, All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport (234) extended their advantage over Vita4One (198).
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT are third on 179. So Donington Park in England will be the scene of both championship deciders from 29-30 September.

^ I was wondering that myself..Wasnt that Nogano? w Loeb winning in the Mclaren?
I dont think we did that great in this series last year either though with Mac, Audi and Merc throwing in their full
weight. Loeb is a natural and will be hard to beat no matter what he drives.

Yeah that's the one. Apparently it's all down to the regulations and our car is effectively a GT3 class car, leaving us no chance to win. If we had WEC rules we would 'wipe the floor with everyone'.

There's no way a 458 is slower than an R8, a BMW and an SLS...or a 12C.

Yeah we would. As said yesterday mate, if AF Corse could run the GTE 458s, we would clean up. Full stop. GT1 changed, in my eyes for the worst few years ago. They put restrictions on the old GT1 Vettes to big them into line of the GT3 machines. GT3 is cheaper and more "attractive" to BMW Mclaren etc etc. As the cars are cheaper to build. No ABS, no carbon brakes. Plus in the old GT1, we had the stunning Masser MC12, which just beast of a GT1 racer. But as the rules changed could race them as ony so many built a year. GT3 got be 500+ built a year (may got that wrong, i really cannt remember if bigger or smaller number).

GT3 was designed to attract more "indie" teams, not big factory backed teams like we see in WEC and the old GT1. Factory teams got alot more $$$ can want to develope the cars and spend $$$ on gaining few tenths. As it is designed more for amatuer drivers and the cars bit closer to production models. FIA will balance the performance of the cars to make them more equal (meant to).

But some how the 458s have come off worse. 2 weeks and the WEC will start.

Yeah that's the one. Apparently it's all down to the regulations and our car is effectively a GT3 class car, leaving us no chance to win. If we had WEC rules we would 'wipe the floor with everyone'.

There's no way a 458 is slower than an R8, a BMW and an SLS...or a 12C.

This is what I dont understand though...we have the 458 which is a relatively new car..so what would it take to make the car competitive in this class?
If its not going to be able to compete, why run it?
And Rob mentions the Mazer, which was effectively an Enzo..I loved watching those race...